Should I stop TTC and leave my job

[Eleano]

Hi,

I've been told confidentially that the project I'm working on may only have a year left before it gets disbanded and we all lose our jobs. And it could be less than a year or slightly more, it's hard to know. The information seems valid since sales aren't going well.

Me and my DH are 34 and 44 years old respectively and have been trying to conceive for a year now. We've been told we seem fine fertility-wise but we've signed up to receive IVF in 9 months if we still haven't managed to conceive naturally.

I earn more than my DH and my income is essential.

I told myself that I wouldn't leave this job as I've been there long enough to qualify for all the maternity benefits. However, if I stay and get pregnant soon I could lose my job while on maternity leave and if I stay and get pregnant later I could lose my job while pregnant with no redundancy pay.

On the other hand, if I leave I would have to pause trying to conceive. In order to qualify for statutory maternity pay in a new job my calculations tell me that I would have to be in the new job for at least 5 weeks before falling pregnant. There is also the probation period to consider which lasts 3 months in most companies in my line of work but I would probably gage how I'm getting on and not wait until that's passed.

What should I do? Stay and keep trying? We had a chemical pregnancy last month so it felt we were getting very close. Or should I leave (would wait until bonus pay comes through in a couple of months) and compromise with a much lower maternity pay but the assurance that I won't get made redundant during pregnancy and there will be a job waiting for me when I'm ready to return to work?

I’d stay and keep trying. I’d be very surprised if a company made an employee redundant whilst pregnant or on maternity leave, to avoid opening themselves up to discrimination claims. I’d be saving as much as you can in the meantime as well

Hmm… if everyone would be getting laid off I don’t think it would matter that you were on mat leave - you couldn’t prove discrimination in that case, especially if you’ve already been told confidentially in writing prior to conceiving. So, I see why you’re concerned.

Is there a good chance you’d be moved to another role/project within the company or would you just be out on your ear? If the former is the case, I’d try and get a guarantee in writing that there would be a different job for you.

If there’s no chance of that happening and your job market is reasonably buoyant, I’d pause and move jobs asap. Unless I had significant savings to cover around 12 months off work at least, I’d want greater peace of mind. It would stress me out beyond belief to lose an essential income (legally) during mat leave. There are just too many variables with pregnancy and matrescense to begin with, without job insecurity in the mix.

Good luck, OP!

I was in this exact situation, trying for a baby and then put up for redundancy. We carried on regardless, I got made redundant, got a new job and finally fell pregnant. Due to go on mat leave soon and and will have been with the new employer 12 months. Bit of a leap of faith.

In my company people on maternity were made redundant

Thats a really tricky situation to be in.

To echo previous replies, you absolutely can be made redundant whilst pregnant and/or on Maternity leave (speaking from experience) and I have had multiple friends and colleagues go through this recently as lots of big organisations are not doing well financially and are having to make some pretty big cuts.

I agree with @deliwoman1 I would get your bonus, put it into a maternity leave fund, and move jobs asap. It’s a far better position to be in to take control of your job than be at the whim of an employer who can pull the rug from under you at any time. The stress of losing a job the week of your due date or with a tiny newborn baby is stress I really wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Some companies have generous enhanced pay requirements, for example my last company only needed 26 weeks service by the qualifying week, essentially meaning that you could fall pregnant the day of starting a job there. Similarly I have heard of colleagues that have fallen pregnant that didn’t qualify for enhanced pay negotiate that from their companies.
Finally TTC is so unpredictable that you really don’t know how long it could take. I’d use this opportunity to move on and try and get a pay rise at the next place. Good luck!

Update: The project and therefore my job will last until September 2024 at which point I will be eligible for redundancy pay

So now the scenarios are:

• Imminent pregnancy (next 3 months): I'm on maternity leave when I get made redundant but I get the payoff and maternity pay

• Latest pregnancy (IVF in May): I just about miss the maternity pay as I would be a few weeks off from getting it but I would get redundancy pay

Now I need to figure out if the redundancy pay will be as good as getting maternity pay.